


Silent Night

by SassyEverlarking



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-03 07:36:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2843267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassyEverlarking/pseuds/SassyEverlarking
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Is it possible to make a connection with someone in the wake of something so painful? Written for Holidays in Panem 2014.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Silent Night

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Everlark_Pearl (mellarksloaves on Tumblr) for being so supportive and helpful with this story every step of the way. It probably wouldn't be anywhere near decent if it wasn't for her. And a shoutout to mellarkberries for pre-reading and adding some insight to help add to the story.

The elevator doors had only just started to slide back when Peeta was slipping between the opening. He glanced around frantically, finding himself on yet another cold, sterile, and indistinguishable floor. A spiky-haired woman in grey scrubs shouldered past him and he reached out to her.

“Excuse me, miss, I’m looking for-”

She flung an arm back towards the direction she had come from, not bothering to slow down. “Desk’s that way.”

Peeta blinked at her dismissive tone and retreating form. “I’m not looking for a desk, I’m looking for-”

This time, the woman did stop. She spun on her heels and pointed again down the hallway. “Desk. That way. They’ll know.” Before Peeta could utter another word, she had spun back around and was stalking away from him.

Peeta normally would’ve found himself verbally questioning such a rude dismissal, especially from someone he assumed was supposed to help him. But he was in too much of a hurry to worry about it then and instead turned and jogged in the direction she had pointed.

As he came around the turn at the end of the hall, the aforementioned desk came into view. He rushed over to it, grabbing at the countertop and peering over it. A bored-looking blonde woman was slouched down in a chair on the other side.

“Hi, I’m looking for-”

“Name.” She sighed tiredly, leaning forward. She reached out and tapped at the computer screen in front of her.

Peeta frowned. “I-I’m sorry?”

The blonde glanced up at him, a mild look of exasperation on her face. “What’s the name?” When all she got from Peeta was a confused stare, she rolled her eyes and gestured at the screen. “Of the person you’re looking for.”

“Oh - oh right.” Peeta shook his head. “Mellark. Rye Mellark. He’s my brother and I got a call that he was brought here after an accident, but they didn’t say how bad and the woman downstairs sent me up here. Well, the woman downstairs sent me to this floor, and then that other woman said you’d know-”

“Mellark’s in 451.” She sighed loudly, clearly not giving a damn about his rambling. She pointed to her right, flopping back in the chair. “Down that hall.”

Peeta smacked the countertop lightly and nodded. “Thank you!” He pushed off the desk and once again broke into a jog. He eyed the number plaques beside each door, counting his way up to ‘451’. He skidded to a stop as the room came up on his right. The door was propped open and he breezed through it.

And then stumbled to stillness. The adrenaline that had built up since he’d gotten the call on his cell dissipated the instant his eyes took in Rye’s prone form. He felt his stomach drop. He could hardly recognize the man before him as the annoying prick of an older brother he’d known his entire life. Not with all the abrasions and discoloration marring his face. Not with the breathing tube sticking out of his mouth.

“Oh…” A feminine voice came from behind Peeta. He turned his head as a petite, dark-haired woman stepped past him. “I didn’t think he’d have visitors this quickly. He only got out of surgery a little while ago.”

“Surgery?” Peeta whispered, watching her fiddle with one of the machines by his brother’s bed.

She nodded, eyes focused on what her fingers were doing. “Yeah, the crash he was in was pretty nasty, they said. Considering all the injuries, brain swelling and-” Her fingers stilled and she looked up at Peeta, her brow furrowed. “Wait, you’re family right?”

Peeta swallowed and nodded, looking from her back to his brother. It was then he noticed the heavy white gauze wrapped around Rye’s head. How he hadn’t seen that immediately… “Uh, yeah. I’m…his brother.”

He could see the woman physically relax out of the corner of his eye. “Oh good.” Peeta looked at her sharply and she winced. “Well, okay. Not good. Sorry. I just meant I’m not supposed to talk about his injuries if you’re not family.” She shook her head and made her way over to him. 

She held out her hand as she approached. “I’m Katniss. I’ll be your brother’s nurse, at least for tonight.”

Peeta wrapped her tiny hand in his. He watched as their hands moved in tandem, feeling dazed. “Peeta. Uh, Mellark. Obviously.” He frowned and brought his focus up to her face. He noted how grey her eyes were, now that he could see them up close. “You…you said something about brain swelling?”

Katniss nodded and slipped her hand from his, turning slightly so she could grab the chart hanging from the end of the bed. “Yeah. Even with the helmet on, your brother whacked his head pretty hard. He had surgery to reduce the swelling, but-” She stopped perusing the chart and looked up at him again.

She suddenly seemed uncomfortable. “Maybe you should wait for the doctor…” Nodding resolutely, she returned the chart to the bed. “Yeah, it’s best if you hear this from him. He’ll explain this a lot better than I can. I’ll go get him.”

Peeta reached out and grabbed her hand gently as she went to brush by him. “Tell me, please?” He mumbled, unable to keep the desperation out of his eyes as he looked down at her.

She stared at him for a moment and then let out a sigh. “Your brother’s in a coma.”

It was all Peeta could do to keep himself standing. He felt like he could throw up that very instant. Rye. His brother. In a coma. He closed his eyes, willing the sudden bout of dizziness to pass.

He felt a gentle squeeze where his hand was still connected with Katniss’. “Let me go get his doctor, okay?” She said softly. Peeta opened his eyes and nodded, letting go of her hand. She nodded back and slipped out of the room quietly.

Peeta stumbled over to the chair on the other side of his bed and collapsed into it. Pulling off his beanie, he stared at the battered face of his brother. Took in the breathing tube and the timed way his brother’s chest moved up and down. The bandage covering the majority of the blonde curls so similar to Peeta’s own.

“Jesus Christ, Rye…” He whispered, feeling tears prick at his eyes.

——-

Exhausted didn’t even begin to cover Peeta’s current state of mind. Nights of sitting, and sleeping, in an uncomfortable chair at his brother’s bedside were already starting to wear him down. He wasn’t even too confident how long it had been since Rye had been brought to the hospital. It could have been three nights, it could have been three years. His thoughts were so scattered, his nerves so frayed, that he wasn’t even sure how he’d managed to find the commissary in his current state. What he needed was a good eight hours of sleep. What he wanted was his brother awake and bugging him like usual. All he was getting was questionable looking hospital coffee in a cheap styrofoam cup.

“Probably best if you went with the tea instead.”

Peeta flinched and turned his head to take in the person who had sidled up beside him at the counter. He found a striking pair of grey eyes watching him. Katniss, the nurse who’d been there the first night Rye had come into the hospital. He gave her a bleary-eyed blink. “What?”

She pointed at the cup he’d shoved under the coffee dispenser. “That stuff usually tastes like garbage this late at night.” She waited until the inky brown liquid had finished spurting into the cup, and then tossed it into the trash further along down the counter.

Peeta squinted, watching as she pulled a packet from the basket sitting by the empty cups. He wanted to protest her taking his coffee, but that required more energy than he liked.

“They’re supposed to change it out every couple of hours, but the skeleton crew that works the night shift isn’t that attentive,” Katniss said as she tore the packet and deposited the tea bag inside into one of the unused cups. Bring it back over towards Peeta, she leaned around him slightly to place it under the dispenser. She then hit the ‘hot water’ button.

Her eyes found his eyes. “You’ll get more of a jolt from this stuff.”

“That obvious I need a jolt?” Peeta’s voice cracked tiredly at the end and he winced.

Katniss smiled sympathetically, reaching out and patting his arm lightly. “Johanna told me you’ve been here since her shift. And mine started a couple of hours ago, so…”

Frowning, Peeta shook his head slightly. “You’ve been here a couple hours already? How didn’t I see you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe after three straight nights here, you’ve gotten so used to us all that we’re all starting to look the same?” Katniss suggested with an eyebrow raise, causing Peeta to furrow his brow like it was a plausible explanation. “Or maybe it’s because you were zonked out at your brother’s bedside when I made my rounds.” She waved a hand around her head haphazardly. “Your hair going every which way, mouth slightly open…”

Peeta caught on to her teasing tone and rolled his eyes. Looking down at the cup, he saw that the hot water had finished streaming. He picked the cup up, dunking the tea bag a few times before taking a tiny sip.

“You should go home, Peeta. Get some sleep in a real bed.”

He shook his head, sparing her a look before taking another drink of tea. “Can’t. Somebody needs to be here with Rye.” Peeta turned and trudged over to one of the many empty tables scattered around the room. He lowered himself into a chair and blew on his tea. He instantly let his mind start to wander again, immediately getting himself lost in the muddle thoughts from before.

He flinched a second time when Katniss scrapped the chair next to his back and took a seat.

“Do you have a habit of sneaking up on people?” He muttered, letting his lack of decent sleep and otherwise bad mood get the better of him.

She gave him a wide-eyed stare. “I didn’t realize it was sneaking up on someone when you’re still in the middle of a conversation with them.”

Peeta sighed and deposited his cup on the table. “Conversation was over. I told you I’m not going home tonight.”

“You’ve been here every night since the accident, Peeta,” Katniss replied, placing her own tea down. “Why not call someone and have them come sit with your brother? I know you’ve got some more family, I’ve seen your brother’s file.”

“Why not stay out of my business and go be a nurse, huh?” Peeta snapped quietly.

Katniss stared at him silently and then she nodded curtly. “Okay,” she grabbed her tea and rose from her seat. “I’m sorry for bothering you.” Her tone was clipped and professional. She backed away from the table and turned, making her way through the double doors that lead back into the hallway.

Peeta frowned, feeling disgust wash over him. Not at her. At himself, for losing his temper with her. He looked up in time to see her stepping into the elevator in the hall. Once she was out of sight completely, he groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. He shoved his tea back on the table so he could cross his arms over the cheap plastic surface. Dropping his face into his arms, he let out a tired sigh.

He was sure tears would come if he didn’t feel so damn exhausted.

——-

It was a couple hours later when Peeta made his way back onto his brother’s floor. He had a fresh cup of tea and a bag full of pastries in hand, both from the 24 hour coffee shop across the street. He hoped it would be enough of a peace offering to make up for his behavior to Katniss.

He stepped up to the nurses’ desk and peered over it. The spiky-haired nurse, who he’d come to know as Johanna, was sitting there checking something on the computer screen. “Do you know where Katniss is?”

She glanced up sharply and then squinted at him. “Oh, it’s you.” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “I don’t know what you said to her, but she’s been in a bit of a snit since, bitching about patients’ families.”

Peeta blushed and made a guilty face. “Yeah, I wasn’t very…pleasant.”

“Well neither am I, a lot of the time.” Johanna glared at him. “And if anybody knows the joys of pushing Brainless’ buttons, it’s me.” She pointed at herself. “But I’m friend. And you’re…” She waved at him like he was nothing of importance. At that moment, he kinda felt like he was.

“Can you just tell me where she is?” He sighed, holding up the tea and pastry bag.

Her brown eyes widened in slight surprise. “You’ve brought bribe snacks? Huh, maybe I underestimated you just now…” Johanna nodded off down the hall after giving him a more appraising once over. “She’s finishing up her rounds, in with your brother.”

Peeta smiled in thanks and made his way towards his brother’s room.

“You better make sure she gives me one of those!” Johanna called after him. He held up a thumbs up over his shoulder. As room 451 approached, he steeled himself for whatever mood Katniss happened to be in. He expected cold and unkind. Not that he deserved anything more - not when he’d acted the exact same way earlier.

Stopping at the doorway, Peeta saw her standing by the foot of Rye’s bed. She was scribbling something onto his chart. Peeta lightly knocked on the doorframe with the hand holding the cup of tea.

Her grey eyes snapped up and then narrowed as she took him in. “If you’ll give me a couple minutes, I’ll be out of here.”

Yep. Cold was definitely the feeling he got from her words. Maybe not so unkind. Professionally objective. That was more what it was.

“You don’t have to rush out on my account.” He said quietly, moving a little into the room.

“Not rushing.” She answered sharply, returning the chart to its usual spot. “Doing my job.” She moved to pass him quickly. “Have a good night, Mr. Mellark.”

“Katniss, wait.” He sighed, thrusting the tea and pastry bag out to her. She stepped back, startled by his sudden movement. He swallowed thickly as she glanced up at him with a look somewhere between ‘what the hell’ and ‘are you serious’.

Peeta sighed again. “I’m sorry?” He hedged softly, offering a tiny apologetic smile. She didn’t seem to buy it, crossing her arms and squaring her shoulders. His drooped significantly and he lowered the offered items. “I didn’t mean to lose my temper like that. This hasn’t been the easiest past couple of days and…” He closed his eyes, frowning. “Let’s just say there’s no one else that would come if I called them right now.”

When he opened his eyes, he saw her angry look had softened the tiniest bit. He considered it the best he was gonna get in that moment. He jiggled the stuff in his hands and jerked his head towards doorway. “I’m gonna go put this on the desk. And go home. Like you said. Because you’re right. I do need some sleep.” He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Some real sleep.”

“Peeta,” Katniss said quietly, causing him to stop in his humiliated retreat. She gave a half-smile and nodded at the bag. “Is that a bribe?”

He shrugged and gave her an unsure look. “A peace offering? Tea and pastries from across the street?”

“From Sae’s?” She asked with look of delightful surprise. “Wow, that’s…”

“I felt bad,” He admitted, handing her the stuff as she stepped over to him. He stuck his hands in his pockets, feeling nervous still. “I was going to just leave and go pass out at home and maybe come back later to try and-” He stopped briefly as her eyes found his after she’d been peering in the bag. “Anyway, I saw the coffee shop place and…I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I guess I couldn’t leave without saying I’m sorry. And I am. I’m very sorry.”

Katniss closed the back slowly and gave a slow, understanding nod. “It’s okay,” She finally whispered. “This sort of stuff gets to everyone.”

Peeta nodded, looking up to his brother for a moment.

“You just gotta know when to ask for help when you need it.” Katniss said and he looked back to her, his brow furrowing.

“I’m not only here to help him, okay?” She offered, reaching out and placing her hand on his arm, the pastry bag dangling from her wrist.

Peeta finally felt the tension brought on from snapping at her drain from his body. “Okay.”

“Now go get some sleep.” She said seriously, her gaze growing firm once again. “If anything happens, we’ll call you.”

Peeta sighed reluctantly.  “Yeah, I will.”

——-

Peeta adjusted his butt on the chair, slouching down and stretching out his left leg. He flipped another page in the magazine he was perusing.

“You know, for a motorcycle magazine, you’d think there’d be more focus on the bikes and not the mostly naked women draped across them.” He sighed, turning the magazine and bringing it closer to his face. “How did she even get in that position? I think she’s breaking the laws of physics, honestly.”

He glanced up over the edge of the magazine like he was actually having a conversation with his brother. Of course he wasn’t. Rye hadn’t uttered a single word in the two weeks since Peeta had found him in this room. Since he’d had his motorcycle accident, the day before Thanksgiving, that had put him in a coma. According to Doctor Abernathy, there was never any clear way to know when and if a coma patient would wake up. That it was a wait and see game.

So that’s what Peeta had been doing every day for two weeks. Coming to the hospital, waiting and seeing if his big brother would come around. He’d brought everything he could think from Rye’s apartment to make his brother feel more at home, whenever he decided to open his eyes and rejoin the waking world. His Harley blanket, his favorite pillow, his pile of bike magazines that Peeta was now killing time flipping through. Anything that could maybe help Rye come out of it. The rest of his family had said he was being ridiculous. That if Rye was gonna wake up, that a pillow and some pieces of glossy paper weren’t going to do much. But Peeta was determined. And he was also the only one of his family who’d actually spent any time with Rye in the hospital since the accident. So he was allowed to be the ‘authority’ on what was good and what wasn’t.

Peeta snorted and dropped the magazine to his lap, shaking his head. “Now I can see why you subscribe to this one. Just the right level of sleaze and chrome to meet your needs.” He turned another page and his eyes widened. “Damn.”

“Little light reading?” A familiar feminine voice whispered over his shoulder. Peeta startled, sitting up sharply and slamming the magazine closed. He glanced up behind him to find Katniss standing there, eyebrows raised and an amused look on her face.

“K-Katniss, hi!” Peeta blushed, tossing the magazine onto Rye’s bedside table where the others were piled up. He wiped his hands on his jeans like he’d been handling something filthy. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

She moved around his chair. “You never do.” She stopped at the foot of Rye’s bed and took a look at his chart. “Though with a show like that,” She glanced up at him and smiled mischievously. “I’m not surprised that you didn’t.”

Peeta shook his head and held a hand towards the magazines. “These are Rye’s. I just…I was sitting here and they were there and I was curious so…”

Nodding, Katniss gave him a look of faux acceptance. “Okay.” She put the chart back and stepped over to Rye’s IV. “If you say so.” She stage-whispered to him, leaning over Rye’s prone form a fraction.

If it was possible for Peeta to blush more, he was sure it was happening in that moment. He slouched down in his seat and ran his hand through his hair. “Even in a coma, he’s still embarrassing me.” He muttered, glaring daggers at Rye.

“Oh, you don’t have to be embarrassed.” Katniss laughed. She fussed over a couple of things on the machine helping Rye breath, and then made her way back over to Peeta. She stepped around him and flipped the magazine he’d been looking through open. “Not for you at least.” She grimaced at whatever image she’d opened to.

Peeta sat up and eyed the page. And choked on a laugh at the ridiculously posed woman he saw.

“I’d be embarrassed for your brother for thinking  _this_ ,” She tapped the page and looked at Peeta. “Is anything more than completely ridiculous. I mean, I bet he…ya know…” She made a disgusted face and shuttered.

Leaning over, Peeta slammed the magazine closed once more. “Okay, no more of that.” He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. “God, that was a mental image I never hoped to relive again.”

“Again?” Katniss laughed, sounding farther away than she had been. Peeta opened his eyes and found that she’d gone back to looking over the machines keeping Rye alive.

He didn’t think about how common the idea of machines keeping his brother alive had become in the past two weeks. He chose to focus on Katniss instead. After their misstep three night’s in to Rye’s stay, Peeta had started to open up a bit more to Katniss. She hadn’t lied when she said she’d be there to help him as much as she was to help his brother. He’d really taken it to heart and had come to enjoy coming to see her as much as he came to be with Rye.

“Oh, you do not want to hear the horror stories of adolescent me sharing a room with this one.” He jerked a thumb towards his brother.

“I don’t know,” Katniss shrugged, smiling at Peeta. “That sounds like it could be fun to me.”

Peeta smiled back. They stared at each other, smiling like idiots, for several seconds until they realized what they were doing. Both looked away from each other, Katniss back to the machines and Peeta to his hands in his lap. Both mentally berating themselves for their blatant flirting.

Clearing his throat, Peeta shifted in his seat. “So, uh…how is he doing?” He hadn’t really needed to ask. Doctor Abernathy had been in just a few hours earlier and updated Peeta on Rye’s condition. And by update, he’d told Peeta there’d been no change.

“‘Bout the same, really.” Katniss replied conversationally. She clearly knew the question was a distraction tactic. But she continued on anyway. “He’s still unresponsive to stimuli and still isn’t able to breathe on his own.”

Peeta knew all of that. He’d been in the room when the doctor had done his tests. He nodded, regardless, as if he was hearing the news for the first time. Rubbing his hands on his thighs, he pushed himself into a standing position and stepped closer to the bed.

“Rye’s always been stubborn.” He stared down at his brother, noting the stubble that was starting to grow around his jaw. He’d have to ask one of the nurses if they could shave him again. “He never does anything the easy way.”

Smiling gently, Katniss turned back towards the bed. She reached out and fussed with the blanket draped over Rye’s legs.

Peeta watched her hands, feeling a wave of uncertainty overtake him. “Does it help?” He asked softly, hesitantly. Katniss looked up at him in confusion. He swallowed and gestured to the blanket before shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Having his stuff here. Talking to him.” He glanced at her and shrugged one shoulder self-consciously. “People keep telling me it’s wishful thinking. To think this stuff helps.”

Understanding dawned on Katniss’ face. She finished with the blanket, her hands smoothing down the edge near the top. “It helps.” She smiled, looking at Rye’s face, and then Peeta’s. “You being here, every day, spending all this time with him, talking to him. It helps. Your brother knows you’re here, even if he can’t show it.”

She leaned across the bed, grasping lightly at his wrist. “You’re doing good, Peeta. Trust me.”

Peeta felt tears well in his eyes, smiling with gratitude.

———

Another week in the hospital and Peeta was well past the point of frustration. Not because Rye was still there, as unresponsive as ever. He couldn’t fault his brother for something he had no control over. Oh no. It wasn’t Rye. It was the rest of his damn family. Three weeks since the accident and neither of his parents or his oldest brother had bothered to stop by. Some bullshit about Rye reaping what he sowed and choosing the dangerous path that he did. They’d always hounded him about his bike riding and his ‘fast’ life. Now they were punishing him for it.

Because the fact that Rye was in a coma wasn’t ‘punishment’ enough.

Peeta was busy glaring a hole through the styrofoam coffee cup resting between his hands when the chair across from him scraped across the linoleum commissary floor. He looked up, a frown on his face, to watch Katniss fall into said chair. She looked about as done with the day as he was.

“Weren’t you in blue earlier?” He questioned with a raised eyebrow, noting the bright pink scrubs she was currently wearing.

She smiled a sickly sweet sort of smile. “That was before the new medical intern dumped a full emesis basin all down my chest.” She mimicked the motion by sweeping her hand down her front.

Peeta grimaced. “Sounds delightful.”

“Oh, the best.” Katniss muttered before taking a sip from the coffee cup in her other hand. She made a face as she swallowed. “God, this tastes-”

“Like shit?” Peeta offered and she nodded, leaning forward to place the offending object on table. “Yeah, I know.”

She glared at him. “Why didn’t you warn me?”

He shrugged in return, flopping back in his chair. He kept one hand stretched out, still lightly holding his own cup. “Misery loves company, I guess. Besides, you should know better. Tea is the way to go, right?”

“Well I can see you’re in one of your moods today.” Katniss squinted at him, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. “What wrong?”

It was Peeta’s turn to give a sickly sweet smile. “What indeed!”

Katniss relaxed some, dropping her arms. “Family again?” Her voice had softened significantly. Like she was willing to put aside all of her woes for the moment to hear him out. She had been quite open to listening to him since he’d started spending nearly every day at his brother’s bedside. He didn’t understand why exactly, but he trusted it nonetheless.

He jerked his eyebrows up and made a face to signify that she had nailed it in one.

“Oh Peeta…” She sighed.

Peeta shook his head, shrugging like it wasn’t important. “Hey, should I really expect the story to change? I mean, they’ve made it clear that Rye  _deserves_ this. That his lifestyle was never something they’ve approved of. He’s always been the black sheep of the family. What makes a difference now, right?”

Katniss rose up from her chair and moved around the edge of the table. She pulled another chair that was nearby over and placed it beside his. She nudged him to turn and face her as she lowered herself into a sitting position.

“Your brother didn’t deserve this, Peeta.” She said with conviction, reaching out to take his hand in both of hers. “He doesn’t deserve this treatment from your family, and neither do you.”

Peeta shook his head again just a fraction, emotion coloring his words. “How do you know?” He asked, his voice cracking. Tears welled in his eyes as he looked at her earnestly. “How  _can_ _you_  know anything about my family or what we possibly deserve? You’ve only known us a few weeks.” He laughed humorlessly and looked down to his lap. “If you can call this ‘knowing’ at all.”

“I know that any parents that won’t come see their son in the hospital aren’t worth this,” Katniss squeezed his hand firmly. “I know a guy who is here to support his brother  _every day_  doesn’t deserve anything from people like that.”

Sniffing, Peeta rolled his eyes and gave another empty laugh. “I sound so pathetic.”

“I shouldn’t say this,” Katniss dropped her voice and leaned in closer to him. “But I’ve seen a lot of pathetic come through these halls. Believe me when I say you’re not.”

Peeta turned his head to look at her. The tears continued to fall, but he felt a firming sense of confidence from the look in her eyes alone. She was looking at him like she’d never been more certain of anything else in her life. Like he hadn’t been hoping for the impossible for the past three weeks.

After a moment, those grey eyes gained a mischievous glint.

“Now you wanna help me? There’s a certain intern I need a little payback on.”

——-

Peeta stood with his hands on his hips, attention focused on the pile of stuff he’d dumped into the chair he normally occupied by his brother’s bed.

"Well, it’s not much," he sighed, looking up at his brother. "Certainly not  _your_ usual holiday fanfare.” He shrugged and glanced back to the chair. “But it’ll have to do.”

Reaching out, he extracted the tiny plastic Christmas tree from amongst the mess of holiday decorations he’d brought with him. Holding it toward Rye, he gave it a small shake. “Always important to start with the tree, right?” He spun slowly on his heels and took in the tiny space around them. His gaze finally stopped on the windowsill and he shrugged again. “Guess the window’s a good enough place.”

Peeta stepped around the chair and up to the window, pulling the tree’s three-legged plastic stand from the chair as he went. He looked from left to right and then placed the tree where he figured center was. Stepping back, he observed his placement.

"Now would be a good time for you to wake up so you can bitch at me about it not being in the right spot…" He grinned and glanced at Rye. All he got in response was the same machinized rise and fall of his brother’s chest. "Just saying’."

Moving back to the tree, Peeta started to busy himself with adjusting the branches. He started humming a Christmas tune to himself. He tried not to think about how he should’ve been doing this back home, with Rye going around and redoing everything he did.

Once he was satisfied with the placement of the branches, he moved back around the chair and started the annoying work of untangling the string of lights. The tiny bulbs scratched at his hands and he frowned, letting out a quiet curse when he somehow managed to make the knot worse.

A knock from behind him had Peeta turning around. Leaning in the doorframe was Katniss. She was watching him with raised eyebrows. When she saw his hands tangled up in the strand of lights, she smirked.

"Well you seem a bit tied up…" She offered with a wink as she looked back up and into his eyes.

Peeta quirked an eyebrow and dropped his hands, one end of the lights clacking against the tile floor. “You’re really gonna tease me when you’re dressed like that?” He nodded towards her garishly decorate sweater.

She plucked at the offending fabric and shrugged. “Ugly sweater Christmas party. There was a contest.”

"Did you win?" Peeta asked innocently, his face neutral of any emotion.

Katniss shrugged again and smiled coyly. It faded as time stretched out awkwardly between them and she pointed to the decorations. “Well, I guess I’ll let you get back to-“

"Would you like to help?" Peeta blurted, holding out the lights as some sort of offering. He smiled shyly.

"Really?" Katniss asked, a hopeful yet unsure quality to her voice. Like she’d been wanting to ask but hadn’t been sure how to. "I don’t want to intrude on your night or anything."

Peeta snorted and looked at the lights in his hands. “You wouldn’t be intruding on anything but my mindless rambling.” When he glanced back up, he smiled softly. “I would like the company, actually.”

Nodding, Katniss pushed off the doorframe and stepped into the room. “Oh good,” she pulled a tin and what appeared to be a book from around her back where her arm had been hidden the whole time. “Because I brought a couple things, hoping you’d be here.”

Peeta raised his eyebrows in surprise. He dumped the knot of lights onto the foot of Rye’s bed and took the offered items. He felt a pang in his chest as he saw the book’s cover - ‘Harley Davidson Through the Years’.

"I saw it and thought of Rye," She said, her voice timid and unsure. "I know he likes motorcycles and figured he might enjoy it when he wakes up?"

Peeta couldn’t find the right words to say, he was momentarily overwhelmed by his emotions at such a kind gesture. Katniss mistook his silence and his stricken appearance for something else.

"I’m sorry, I should’ve asked first," she reached out to take the book back. "I shouldn’t have assumed-"

"No, it’s wonderful." Peeta said abruptly, his voice rough. He jerked the book out of her reach and she looked up at him with doubt. He cleared his throat and smiled shakily. "It’s really thoughtful, Katniss. Thank you."

She visibly relaxed and blushed.

Peeta took a glance at the other item she’d given him. It was a tin and after a quick shake and glimpse under the lid, he confirmed that they were cookies. “Did you make these?”

Katniss let out a quick laugh. “God, no!” She shook her head and the blush that had bloomed across her cheeks darkened. “I’d never subject you to the garbage I’d try to bake!” Her eyes widened at her unchecked admission and she snapped her mouth shut, seeming to grow even more red.

He smirked at her embarrassment, finding it incredibly endearing. He eased the lid of the tin open and peered inside again. There was an assortment of them. All obviously store bought. He smiled wider at the sight of them, knowing they likely tasted like crap. At least to his standards.

"Looks good." He lied, closing the lid and tucking the tin against his chest.

Katniss smiled triumphantly like Peeta had hoped she would. Another period of silence stretched between them as they stared and smiled at one another. Katniss seemed to realize it first. “So,” her voice snapped Peeta from his trance. “Decorating?”

"Yes!" Peeta said a bit too loudly. He turned and deposited the cookies on the chair and then gestured to his haphazard pile. "You can start wherever you want. I don’t have much, I wasn’t really sure about how much I could get away with in here…" He paused and looked at her shyly. "You’re sure you want to help? You don’t have to do anything, really."

Katniss patted his shoulder. “I would love to help.” Picking up the lights he had abandoned, she smirked at him. “That is, if you don’t mind be fixing the mess you made of these?”

Closing his eyes, Peeta brought his hands together in a prayer gesture. He shook them at her. “Please!”

Katniss laughed softly and moved to sit in the spare chair tucked against the wall opposite Rye’s bed.

Grabbing a set of baubles from the decoration pile, along with the box of hooks, Peeta joined Katniss. He lowered himself to the cold tile floor, dropping the baubles in his lap and the hooks on the floor by his leg.

"And just so you know," he said conversationally, attention trained on pulling the plastic from the box of ornaments. "That mess was all Rye’s doing from last year." He looked up at her, finding her watching intently, her fingers stilled in their untangling. "He  _never_  organizes when he puts the decorations away.” Peeta rolled his eyes. “Always just throws them in a box and says,” he imitated his brother’s voice poorly. “‘We’ll deal with it next year!’”

Katniss laughed and went back to untangling the lights.

"Then of course the next year, he’s bitching about not having anything organized." Peeta chuckled, shaking his head.

"So Rye’s really into Christmas then?"

Peeta gave her a wide-eyed look. “He’s dragging the Christmas decorations downstairs on Thanksgiving night. Usually drunk as a skunk when he’s doing it.” He stopped as the memory at his brother active and conscious hit him like a ton of bricks. He licked his lips and focused intently on the hook he was trying to attach to the ornament in his grasp.

"I’m sure Rye would love that you’re doing this for him," Katniss said quietly. Peeta glanced up at her and found her looking at him with a reassuring smile on her face. He offered a weak smile in return, nodding somewhat.

Katniss nodded back in acceptance. She then shook out the lights, the remainder of the tangle falling out like it hadn’t been knotted at all. “Okay, these are tree ready,” she said in a clearly distracting tone. She held them out to Peeta. “You wanna?”

He shook his head, waving her off. “No, you should do it.” He said gruffly.

"Okay." Katniss kept the cheer to her voice, springing to her feet.

“So, uhh,” Peeta cleared his throat after a couple of minutes of silence had passed between them. He still had his back to her, was still intently focused on getting hooks in the baubles. “Why are you here?” His eyes widened and he glanced over his shoulder to find her staring at him with uncertainty, her hands frozen against the tiny tree. “I…I mean..how come you’re not…” He swallowed thickly and looked away in embarrassment. “Do you…not have…anybody? Family?”

When he looked back at her, Katniss was staring out of the window into the snowy darkness. It seemed as if her mind was a million miles away.

“There’s my mom.” She whispered, frowning slightly. “But we haven’t really…” She looked down at the tree, taking one of the ends of the branches between her fingertips. “Not since my sister…”

Peeta’s shoulders slumped and he closed his eyes. “Oh Katniss, I’m sorry.” He winced. Moving the ornaments from his lap, he pushed himself up and stepped over to her slowly. “I didn’t mean to pry or anything.”

There were tears in her eyes when she glanced up at him. “You didn’t know.” She shrugged and turned back to the tree. She quickly resumed stringing the lights, a distraction as much as the baubles in Peeta’s lap had been. “It’s been several years now anyway.”

Hesitantly, Peeta reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder. “I’m still sorry.” When she snuck a glance at him over her shoulder, he shook his head. “That’s not something you get over easy.” His attention drifted over to Rye and he felt another wave of emotion come crashing down.

Katniss followed his gaze, turning to take in his brother. She reached up and covered his hand still on her shoulder with her own. Then she was shaking her head and sniffing loudly.

“Okay, you know what we need?” She gasped, the optimism springing back to life in her voice. When her eyes found his again, there was a look of determination there. Peeta raised his eyebrows in question. She smiled, though it was a little shaky. “Christmas music.”

Peeta quirked a half-smile. “Can we do that?”

Wiping at her eyes, she stepped around him and extracted the iPod from her back pocket. Peeta knew from one of their many late night chats that she carried it around with her when she had to ride the bus to work. “If we keep it low enough, it shouldn’t be an issue.” She fiddled with the device for a moment and then a soft, familiar holiday tune started to play. She held up the iPod so he could see.

“Yeah, that’s good.” Peeta nodded. “Nothing like a little music motivation, right?” He stepped back over to the box of ornaments and bent over to pick them up. When he righted himself, Katniss was giving him a look he couldn’t quite figure out.

“Absolutely.” She moved to him and took the box from his hand. “Let’s cheer this place up a little.”

So they did. They continued to decorate the tree, carrying on soft conversation as the music poured out of her iPod. They tried to stay clear of anything too heavy, but it was hard to ignore the fact that they were decorating a hospital room with a man in a coma a few feet away. Still, Peeta felt some level of contentment as they put the finishing touches on the tree.

He gathered the few empty boxes and Katniss’ discarded ugly sweater littering the chair, resting them on the floor as he eased himself down into the seat. Katniss sat on the chair’s arm. Both stared at Rye in his bed.

“The hat was a nice touch.” Peeta smiled, eyeing the santa hat Katniss had gingerly placed on his brother’s head.

Katniss snorted softly. “We’ll have to take it off before rounds,” She glanced at Peeta and shrugged, a smile coming unchallenged. “But it won’t hurt him to have it on for a little while.”

Peeta reached out and wrapped his fingers around her wrist. “Thank you.” He gave her a small nod and then gestured around them with his other hand. “For all of this. He would really really love it.”

She placed her free hand over his, squeezing. “Thank you for letting me help.”

They stared at each other intently, another long moment passing between them. Only this time Peeta didn’t feel quite so awkward. Instead, he felt a warmth spreading across his chest, a slow burn tingling across his belly. The song on Katniss’ iPod faded into another and familiar chords filled the quiet air around them.

“Come here,” He whispered, removing the hand from her wrist and patting his thigh.

Eyes still focused on his, Katniss eased herself down from the arm and into his lap. He secured one arm around her waist, letting his hand rest against her hip. The other he brought up to lightly brush at the skin of her arm. He then leaned forward a fraction, pressing his lips gently against her shoulder. He pressed his forehead there a moment later.

“I’m glad you’re here.” He mumbled and peeked up at her. He felt like he could suffocate under the weight of her gaze. It wasn’t anything he was entirely against either.

Katniss shifted around slightly, bringing both hands up to cup his face between them. Her lips found his in a soft, hesitant kiss a second later and he sighed into her mouth. One of his hands wove into her loose braid as he pressed back against her mouth with his own.

After a couple seconds, Katniss pulled away slowly. She released his face and shifted again, settling down against his side. Peeta shifted too, making as much room for her as possible. It all felt so natural, holding her like he was. He knew it shouldn’t. Not under such circumstances. Not when he was at the side of his brother’s hospital bed.

But he couldn’t deny it. With the words of ‘Silent Night’ continuing to carry around the room, Peeta couldn’t fight it how having Katniss tucked against him, her head resting on his shoulder, felt so good.

——-

Katniss couldn’t stop herself from smiling as she rode the elevator up to her floor. She’d managed to talk Madge into switching shifts with her, which meant she’d now have New Year’s Eve off. It wasn’t often she got two holidays off in a row. Not that she’d actually had Christmas itself off this year. But the memories from Christmas Eve had been so wonderful, even considering the circumstances, that working on Christmas Day hadn’t been too bad. Even Johanna’s teasing that followed when her friend had found her asleep in Peeta’s lap Christmas morning had been worth it.

She was hoping she could up the ante for New Year’s. Maybe talk Peeta into going someplace with her for the night. They hadn’t had a proper kiss since Christmas Eve, when she’d let herself actually give into what she’d been feeling for weeks now. And since that night, she’d wanted more. She knew it was selfish to expect much from him. His brother was still no better. He was still related to a patient of hers, something that wasn’t exactly illegal, but definitely frowned up. Haymitch had already given her a warning about getting too close. That it never ended well.

But Katniss found herself drawn to Peeta like she’d never been drawn to anyone before. She hadn’t felt this much of a connection to anybody since her sister had died. She didn’t know why she felt so close to him. They’d only ever interacted within the walls of the hospital. But she did. And she couldn’t bring herself to fight it anymore.

The elevator dinged, sliding open. Katniss glided out into the hall, focused on getting clocked in and getting to Peeta. She was so focused on her goal, she didn’t see Johanna giving her a frantic look as she made her way into the employee lounge behind the desk. It wasn’t until she turned around, clipping her hospital badge onto her scrub pocket, that she noticed the other woman.

“What’s up?” Katniss asked cautiously, stepping back in surprise as Johanna rushed over to her.

“Goddamn, I was practically signaling airplanes, I was waving my arms so hard.” The spiky-haired woman grumbled, taking Katniss’ hand in one swift motion. “Blondie has got you so lovesick it makes me wanna vomit.”

Katniss tried to yank her hand free, but to no avail. “What the hell, Jo?” She found herself being dragged out into the hallway. “Why are you being crazier than usual?!”

She got a pointed, unimpressed look in return. Then Johanna forced her to turn her head to look down the hallway Rye’s room was down. Katniss’ eyes widened at she took in the scene. There were a few people standing outside of room 451, one of them being Peeta. And he looked upset. Very upset.

“What’s going on?” She whispered, feeling a stab in her chest at how anguished Peeta looked.

“I don’t know, but your boy toy was yelling ‘you can’t do that!’ not long before you showed up,” Johanna whispered back.

Katniss looked at her, eyes wide, before pulling from her grasp and slowly making her way in Peeta’s direction. He was arguing quietly with an older blonde man and Doctor Abernathy. She slowed several feet away, not wanting to intrude on what seemed to be a very intense, private conversation. But as she stopped, Peeta caught sight of her and rushed over to her.

“They’re gonna pull the plug, Katniss!” His voice was raw with emotion and she could see the tears threatening to break free from his eyes. “They say he’s never gonna wake up and that it’s better to just end it.” He took her hands. “Please, help me! Help me talk them out of it!”

She opened and closed her mouth, her brow furrowing at the absolute pain etched across Peeta’s face. “Peeta, I…don’t-” She whispered and then found herself being dragged once more.

Peeta pulled her to where everyone else stood. “Tell them what you told me! That he can hear. That he knows we’re here and that he could possibly wake up.” He looked at her desperately. “Please?”

“I…I…” Katniss looked frantically from Peeta to Haymitch, who was scowling disapprovingly at her. Then she looked to the the older man she didn’t know. Seeing him up close, she noticed similarities between him and two men she’d spent so much of her time around the last month.

Before she could stutter out anything else unintelligible, a fierce looking blonde woman stepped out from Rye’s room. “Let’s get this over with, please.” She muttered, giving Katniss an unimpressed once over before stomping back inside.

Realization hit Katniss like a ton of bricks. She looked at Peeta quickly, who was staring down the older man with glistening eyes.

“Please, dad.” He whispered dejectedly. “Please don’t do this.”

The older man sighed and reached out to pat Peeta’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Peet. It’s for the best.” With that, he too stepped into the room. Haymitch gave Peeta a sympathetic look before giving her one last reproachful glare. He then stepped into the room as well.

Peeta pulled Katniss in behind him, the two standing back while the parents that had failed to visit their son throughout his entire hospital stay stood near the bed. Katniss noticed a third blond man, who she assumed was Peeta’s oldest brother, slouched down in the chair by the window.

“Wheat?” Peeta muttered, the desperation still weighing down his voice.

The oldest Mellark son stared at his brother and shook his head, shrugging helplessly. He seemed to be at an absolute loss.

Peeta let out a frustrated breath. Katniss squeezed his hand in comfort and support. He looked to her for a moment and she felt like she could drown in the tortured look in his blue eyes.

“I’m going to turn the machine helping Rye breath off now,” Haymitch announced, resolutely avoiding eye contact with Peeta. Katniss knew the gruff old man had come to care for Peeta, and Rye, much like she had. The whole staff that worked their floor had. Peeta had a way of growing on people. She tried to find it in herself to be angry at Haymitch in such a moment, but she knew he was only doing what he was obligated to do. It was the same reason she couldn’t plead Peeta’s case, no matter how much she yearned to.

“It’s up to him after that,” the doctor sighed. He turned to the machine providing Rye with the necessary oxygen to survive. He stuck a key into the machine, turning it. He then move his finger to hover over the button that would kill the power.

“Do it.” The harsh woman Katniss assumed was Peeta and Rye’s mother whispered.

Peeta pulled in a sharp breath and Katniss held hers as Haymitch pressed the button. The machine powered down and the steady rise and fall of Rye’s chest ceased. All eyes were on him as everyone waited to see what would happen now that he was forced to breathe on his own.

The rise and fall of Rye’s chest was soon replaced by the rapid rise and fall of the line on the heart monitor. Katniss felt like her own heart had been ripped from her chest.

“No!” Peeta cried, pulling from her grasp and pushing past his parents. He grabbed Rye’s hand, holding it up against his chest and shaking it. “Come on, Rye! Breathe!” He was no longer fighting the tears. “Please, Rye! Don’t do this! I need you!” He whispered.

The heart monitor’s rhythm only grew more frantic and then reduce down into a single, flat line.

“Rye, don’t!” Peeta sobbed, collapsing down and pressing his lips to the back of his brother’s hand. “Stay with me! Please!”

Katniss covered her mouth with her hand, forcing her own sobs to stay inside her. She couldn’t break down, even as Peeta’s breaking down was torturing her. She looked frantically to Haymitch, willing him to do something.  _Anything_. Break the law. Stop it. She knew he could make it stop.

But she also knew, the moment he looked up at her and shook his head, that he wouldn’t. Instead he turned and killed the power on the heart monitor, announcing the time of death a moment later. Peeta’s sobs grew louder and he dropped to the floor, releasing Rye’s limp hand.

Haymitch stepped around the bed, offering his apologies to everyone in his objective sort of way. It rubbed Katniss the wrong way to know he was able to lock his feelings away like that. She stared at him, lost somewhere between understanding and contempt, as he moved towards her.

“You and I need to talk later.” He whispered softly, but with no less vinegar than she would’ve expected. Her stare turned into a challenging glare. His mouth twitched in anger, but he said nothing else as he moved out of the room.

“Peeta, it’s alright son.”

Katniss whipped her head around at Peeta’s father’s words, her eyes wide and her face flushing with anger. She saw he had kneeled down, was reaching out to place what she assumed was a comforting hand on his son’s shoulder. Before her emotions could take over and make her snap something that would likely make her lose her job, Peeta jumped up and away from his father’s hand.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” He bit out. She was sure if looks could kill, Peeta would be dead set on ending his entire family right then and there. “And don’t you  _dare_  tell me it’s alright. You just killed your own son! My brother. My  _best friend_. What the fuck is wrong with you, telling me it’s alright?!”

“Peeta, it was the best thing for-”

Holding up his hand, Peeta shook his head. “Don’t say his name. And do notpresume to know what was best for him. There’s no way you  _can_  know. You haven’t been here. Not once in the past month did you come and see him. I’ve been here  _every damn day_  since the accident. You weren’t his family. You didn’t deserve the power to kill him.”

“We only did what you never could have, Peeta.” His mother’s tone was clipped and righteous. Like she felt no grief over what she’d just done. Even from the very little Katniss knew about the woman, she doubted she did. “Rye brought this upon himself. We all know this.”

“Fuck you.” Peeta snapped, his voice dropping to a level Katniss had never heard from him before. One she could only describe as dangerous. He looked to the ceiling, seeming at war with his emotions, opening his mouth and letting out a rush of air.

Then he took off out of the room, muscling past his parents and breezing right by her. She blinked in surprise, stumbling out into the hall. She watched him stalk down the hallway in the direction of the elevators, blatantly ignoring the shouts from his father and brother.

———

It was a few hours before she had a chance to go look for him. She had wanted to go off after him immediately, but Haymitch had stopped her. And had given her the talk he’d mentioned was a necessity. He had told her of his disapproval over her lack of professionalism when it came to the Mellark case. There there might not have been a rule, but she certainly knew there was a limit to ‘friendly’ behavior towards patients and their families. She needed to ‘watch herself’ for the foreseeable future and to expect a lot of ‘grunt work’ for as long as he saw fit.

But Katniss couldn’t concern herself with Haymitch’s ridiculous threats in that moment. Not when she had a distraught Peeta Mellark curled up just a few feet away. He was in the employee’s lounge on a floor that was closed for remodel, huddled between the wall and a beat-up old couch that she knew felt like shit when you crashed on it.

“How’d you find me?” Peeta mumbled to her, his voice thick from crying.

Katniss opened her mouth to say something, but realized no matter what she said, it would be a lie. Finally, she shrugged. “I’m not really sure? I just sorta… knew to come here?” She offered helplessly. That was the truth. She hadn’t known why she’d come down to this floor. But she had. And here she’d found him.

Peeta snorted, though is sounded terrible from how stopped up his nose was. “Funny how someone I hardly know, knows exactly where to find me.” She tried not to feel hurt at his words. “My family gone?”

“Yeah.” She stepped over to him, lowering herself down. She folded her legs in front of her. “They left not long after you took off.”

He smiled grossly and nodded, dropping his head back against the wall. “That sounds about right.”

“Peeta, I’m sorry.”

He shook his head. “No. Please don’t say that.” He pinched his eyes shut, pulling his knees up and wrapping his arms around them. “Everyone is gonna say that. And I don’t want you to be like all of them. So please, don’t.”

“Okay,” She whispered, unsure of what else she could say.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” He asked, opening his eyes and giving her a desperate look. “I asked for your help and you just…stood there. You said if I needed help, all I had to do was ask.”

“Peeta, I-” Katniss dropped her head, picking at the fraying carpet.

He cut her off. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t put that on you. I know why you didn’t. I get it.” He shook his head and dropped it down onto his knees. “God…I don’t… know…” His shoulders started to shake as another round of sobbing hit him.

Katniss raised up onto her knees and inched closer. She squeezed herself between him and the couch and he collapsed against her as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“My brother died.” He cried against her. “My family killed their own son. How do I get over this, Katniss? How do you get over losing your best friend?”

“I don’t know,” She whispered truthfully. She really didn’t. Katniss had been trying to figure out the answer to a similar riddle since she was sixteen. Almost a decade later, and she was still no closer. And she couldn’t even begin to imagine what is was like knowing your own family had done it. Things between her and her mother hadn’t been all that solid since Prim’s death, but she never would doubt that her mother would do all she could to help her if things got too bad.

“Stay with me?” Peeta mumbled, shifting his head so it was pressed again the side of her neck.

Katniss placed a kiss into his hair, again at a loss for a response. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes, pulling Peeta tighter against her as he sobs picked up once again.

How did you respond to something someone had screamed to a dying man a few hours earlier?

——-

Peeta trailed next to Katniss, his hand tightly locked with hers, as they made their way down the hall on her floor. His head felt like it was ten sizes too big for his body, he’d cried so much in such a short period of time. He felt like he was in a daze. Like if Katniss wasn’t holding onto him in that moment, he’d drift away on a rocky sea.

The blonde nurse that had been at the desk the first night Peeta had walked down this hall came rushing around the desk as they approached. Her name was Madge, Peeta had learned. So many things he’d learned in his time spent here, and part of him felt like it was for nothing. Absolute shit. What had been so important about it all when his brother had died anyways?

“Haymitch has been paging you for the last half hour,” She whispered harshly to Katniss, eyes flickering between her and Peeta. “Where the hell were you?”

“Had somewhere I needed to be.” Katniss said firmly, squeezing Peeta’s hand. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he felt an overwhelming joy at her words and the gesture.

“Everdeen!” A loud voice bellowed from down the hall and the three looked up to see Doctor Abernathy sticking his head out of a room. “Get your ass down here  _now_.”

Peeta felt a panic building up within him. This was it. This was the moment she let got and he would be alone. He’d have no reason to come back anymore. She’d have no reason to see him. He’d asked her to stay and she’d said nothing, but she’d been there at least. Only now she wouldn’t be and he’d be alone. Lost to the rocky sea.

He looked up and saw Katniss staring at him intently. He was wondering if he looked as panicked as he felt. From the look on her face, he was sure he did.

“Stay right here.” She said softly, letting go of his hand. He watched her move around the desk and into the employee lounge. For a second, he considered bolting. Thought of running from this inevitable moment of surrender and acting like it wasn’t something of importance. But she’d asked him to stay. So he did. Even if she couldn’t offer the same for him, he couldn’t deny her the request.

Katniss came flying back out of the lounge a few minutes later. She made her way to him.

“Everdeen!” Abernathy’s shout came a second time.

“Alright, I’m coming!” She shouted back angrily before looking at Peeta. She took his hand, holding it up and placing something into it. Curling his hand into a fist, she pressed her lips to knuckles and nodded. Then she took off again, making her way down the hallway where Abernathy was waiting.

Peeta stared after her, still stuck in his daze. Distractedly, he uncurled his fist and looked down at what she’d put in his hand. It was a folded piece of paper. Frowning, he unfolded it. A key fell into his palm. Then his eyes widened at the words hastily scrawled across the paper. ‘Always’, she’d written. And below that, an address.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm ichooseupeetachu on Tumblr if you'd like to look me up/drop me a message there. :)


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